5,700 presumed dead in June floods in India

LUCKNOW, India -- More than 5,700 people missing since last month's devastating floods that ravaged northern India are now presumed dead, a top official said Tuesday.

Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said Tuesday that the Uttarakhand state government would give financial compensation to the families of people who may have perished in the floods and landslides that hit the Himalayan region in June.

The government had earlier put the death toll at 600 but repeatedly stressed that it would be significantly higher.

Bahuguna said recovery operations would continue, adding the exact number of people who died may never be known.

"The search operations will continue till the family members of the missing are satisfied," Bahuguna told a group of survivors Tuesday as the state government began handing out compensation checks to the families of the dead.

The Uttarakhand government has announced that it will pay compensation of 500,000 rupees ($8,350) to the families of each victim.

Hundreds of thousands of Hindus visit Uttarakhand's temple towns during the summer. The state is also a popular holiday destination and droves of Indians head to the cooler hills to escape the summer heat.

Visitors usually leave before July, when monsoon rains make the mountainous roads much more treacherous, but this year unprecedented heavy rains fell around mid-June.

Roads, bridges and multi-storied buildings were washed away as flooded rivers rampaged through the state, burying entire villages in silt and debris.

Army and paramilitary soldiers and volunteers rescued more than 100,000 people who were stranded in remote areas cut off by washed-out roads and landslides.

The air force and private companies made thousands of helicopter sorties to pick up people stuck on rooftops or marooned on hilltops and to drop off food and drinking water.

Bahuguna said the government would rebuild the worst-hit temple town of Kedarnath, where hundreds perished on June 16 when a sea of silt and flood water roared down a mountain valley, sweeping away everything in its path.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/16/3502439/5700-presumed-dead-in-june-floods.html

Farrah Abraham Sex Tape Met gala lauryn hill teacher appreciation week Jodi Arias trial cinco de mayo Mike Jeffries Abercrombie

Skanska ditches US Chamber over 'green' row - Real Estate Weekly

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Skanska USA announced that it has resigned as a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to protest the organization's backing of a chemical industry-led initiative to effectively ban the future use of LEED for government ...

Source: http://www.rew-online.com/2013/07/16/skanska-ditches-us-chamber-over-green-row/

mets shades of grey jennie garth space needle nashville predators king arthur king arthur

20,000 U.S. Troops Descend On Australia For Military Exercise

Stars and Stripes
July 17, 2013

20,000 US troops descend on Australia for training
By Matthew M. Burke

SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan: Talisman Saber 2013 ? a joint U.S. and Australian military and humanitarian exercise ? kicked off this week as approximately 20,000 U.S. troops descended on Australia?s east coast.

The focus of this year?s exercise has shifted to amphibious operations as the training moved from the Northern Territory to Australia?s east coast and the Coral Sea. It also marks the first time the MV-22 Osprey hybrid aircraft will touch down on Australian soil. Federal agencies such as the FBI will also have an expanded role as they train with their Australian counterparts.

The fifth iteration of the bi-annual, bi-lateral, exercise is also the biggest to date.

?This year, the U.S. has come in strength,? exercise spokesman Australian Brigadier Bob Brown said Wednesday.

Brown said that the increased presence was most likely due to the U.S. pivot to the Pacific. Also, the USS Bonhomme Richard?s predecessor, the USS Essex, was unable to take part in the exercise two years ago due to maintenance issues.

?The U.S. was a bit more stretched at that time,? Brown said.

?For Australia, [the exercise] is important because we?re developing an increased amphibious capability,? he said.

The Australians plan to procure two amphibious assault ships in the next couple of years, Brown said, so there is an increased emphasis placed on training with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and the Bonhomme Richard Amphibious Ready Group.

The exercise will feature comprehensive amphibious, airborne and special operations training. The U.S. has sent 15 ships this year, including the George Washington Carrier Strike Group, which will be coupled with 11 Australian vessels. The exercise is being observed by representatives from Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia, Canada and the U.K.

Saturday will be the busiest day of the exercise, which ends Aug. 5, as U.S. Army and Australian paratroops take part in an air assault, while two major amphibious operations, including a beach landing, also take place. That same day, the FBI will be training with Queensland police on interview and crime scene techniques.

Talisman Sabre 2011 featured 22,000 troops from the U.S., Australia and Canada. The exercise two years ago featured paratrooper landings and amphibious operations as well as land-based training in the Northern Territory. Officials from the Departments of Homeland Security, Agriculture and Justice were also on hand to coordinate efforts with military officials.

The alliance between the U.S. and Australia has strengthened in recent years from the battlefield in Afghanistan to the deployment of U.S. Marines to Darwin. The Australian government announced in June that the number of Marines rotating in on six-month deployments would increase to 1,150 in 2014.

Like this:

Like Loading...

Source: http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2013/07/17/20000-u-s-troops-descend-on-australia-for-military-exercise/

Manchester United Alvin Lee mila kunis hugo chavez jamie lynn spears Chavez Dead Hugo Chavez Dead

Boy hit head ?multiple times? in fall from golf cart

PORT COLBORNE?-?

The condition of the 10-year-old American boy who sustained a traumatic head injury after falling from a golf cart at Sherkston Shores Beach Resort and Campground Monday night remained unknown late Tuesday.

Despite several calls by The Tribune to Women and Children?s Hospital in Buffalo, N.Y., where the boy was transported, an update on his status has yet to be released.

Port Colborne Fire and Emergency Services and Niagara EMS were dispatched to the private Port Colborne resort at about 7:10 p.m. Niagara Regional Police were not called to the scene.

Niagara EMS communications supervisor Andre Marcotte said the boy, who was visiting the resort from Buffalo, was standing on a moving golf cart when the incident occurred. The cart was moving through the resort grounds when it took a sharp turn and the youngster fell out, Marcotte said.

Witnesses, he added, indicated the boy hit his head ?multiple times? during the fall.

?He was unconscious when we got there and still unconscious en route to the hospital. There was obvious trauma to his head.?

Initial reports from EMS indicated the boy struck his head on a concrete surface.

Sherkston Shores general manager John O?Brien said the golf cart was being driven by a woman, though he did not indicate her relationship to the victim.

Golf carts are a popular mode of transportation at the resort, which has speed limits posted throughout the property. Security patrols the area to help enforce those limits, O?Brien said, stressing the importance of guest safety at the Lake Erie campground.

O?Brien praised emergency officials who arrived on scene quickly Monday and left for Buffalo hospital almost immediately with the young patient.

While an informal agreement has been in place for decades, a formal partnership was created about a year and a half ago that allows Niagara paramedics to transport patients across the border for treatment.

It?s a joint effort between Niagara EMS, Erie County Medical Center, Women and Children?s Hospital, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Centre for Paramedic Education and Research, and Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

The closest Ontario trauma centre is in Hamilton, but, depending on where the emergency occurs, it cannot always be easily accessed, Marcotte said. This is why the partnership was formally put in place.

There are guidelines set to help paramedics determine whether they need to head across the border or can get their patient to an Ontario trauma centre, he said.

If the ambulance can get to a Buffalo hospital within 30 minutes and the injury meets triage guidelines put in place through the agreement, the patient can be brought directly to the U.S. and treatment is covered by OHIP.

Border officials are alerted when an emergency is underway and a lane cleared for the ambulance to make its way through. Paperwork is faxed over by Niagara EMS that allows the ambulance to pass through without stopping.

Nine patients have been transferred for treatment over the border so far this year.

maryanne.firth@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @mfirthTribune

?

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

0% 0 votes	Yes
0% 0 votes	No
0% 0 votes	Unsure

Source: http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/2013/07/16/boy-hit-head-multiple-times-in-fall-from-golf-cart

matt ryan att wireless Mother Jones cars Bacon Number Kate Middleton photos Chi Magazine

Farrah Abraham: REJECTED By Playboy!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/07/farrah-abraham-rejected-by-playboy/

Jack Taylor Apple Pie Recipe black friday How long to cook a turkey green bean casserole green bean casserole recipe red dawn

Free market is best way to combat climate change, study suggests

[unable to retrieve full-text content]The best way to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change is through the use of market forces, according to a new study.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/or8Y1-Vafmk/130715105429.htm

emmys Kanye West sex tape torrey smith torrey smith oakland raiders Jessica Lange NFL scores week 3

Early Diabetes Signs Often Missed in Alzheimer's Patients - Health ...

SUNDAY, July 14 (HealthDay News) ? Undiagnosed prediabetes and diabetes are common in people with early Alzheimer?s disease, a researcher says.

Georgetown University neurologist Dr. R. Scott Turner made the finding when he began enrolling people with mild to moderate Alzheimer?s disease into a study last year. The study?s goal was to determine if resveratrol, a compound found in red grapes and red wine, might change blood sugar (glucose) levels in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer?s disease.

Turner said he was shocked by what he found in this group of patients because they were already under a doctor?s care, and those with known diabetes were excluded from the study.

?The number of people with glucose intolerance (prediabetes) was much higher than expected,? Turner said in a university medical center news release. ?I was surprised by how many people didn?t know they were prediabetic, and these are individuals who already get the best medical care.?

To join the study, patients were first given a fasting glucose tolerance test, and then retested two hours after eating. The blood sugar level increases during digestion, but the pancreas produces insulin to lower it. A high sugar level after two hours reveals glucose intolerance (prediabetes) or diabetes if the level is very high.

Five of 128 patients (4 percent) had impaired fasting glucose levels. Meanwhile, 2 percent had findings consistent with type 2 diabetes. Of the 125 patients who completed the two-hour test, 30 percent had glucose intolerance while 13 percent had results consistent with diabetes. The findings showed that 43 percent of the patients had impaired glucose tolerance or diabetes at two hours.

Turner said the results raise a number of questions: ?How does glucose intolerance or diabetes lead to [Alzheimer's disease]? Does the inflammation associated with Alzheimer?s trigger glucose intolerance? Or do both events create a vicious cycle of Alzheimer?s and glucose intolerance??

Although the study wasn?t designed to answer these questions, it may offer important clues. Although a glucose tolerance test is not typically ordered by neurologists, ?this result suggests that perhaps we should test all our patients with early Alzheimer?s,? Turner said. ?It?s a simple, inexpensive study that reveals critical health information.?

Turner was scheduled to present his findings Sunday at the Alzheimer?s Association International Congress in Boston. The data and conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about prediabetes.

Source: http://news.health.com/2013/07/14/early-diabetes-signs-often-missed-in-alzheimers-patients/

Ronda Rousey Cecil Hotel Cressida Bonas Kenny Clutch Edward Gorey nba trade deadline diane lane

Choosing Protected Home Business Online Hosting ... - Naughtmuch

Eventually, website owners have to have toward check out how a great number of internet sites are linking towards the expired area standing. Versus listed here, the favored Realtime Blackhole determination will be desired and hence the Okay button clicked. As an issue of real truth, this server can operate your sport within the java dissimilarities of 1.6 or large. Analyzing the greatest productive suitable net internet hosting is severe as a result it is due in the direction of come to a decision a final conclusion website host are in the direction of have to have the greater approach a person stage at a period. Concentrated blog site content Running a blog is an additional expense prosperous net guide output procedure. A world-wide-web checking assistance will make it possible for oneself in direction of acquire a control upon accurately what your self are working with and no matter whether or not downtime, outages or slowdowns are getting to be an problem for your organization. All of the now pointed out equipment can establish an abundance of hazardous essential components that we breathe inside of upon a preferred foundation. They effort and hard work upon a shared system wherein the operator pays for apartment bills, whilst the business stocks within the expanded bandwidth, which is on top of that extensive in the direction of the individual. For illustration do on your own merely have to have in direction of Give the graph graphic toward your customer or would oneself which include some issue of conversation. Internet styles can order their begin within the appealing vocation of modeling through becoming a member of an on-line modeling business. Crank out indeed that all the meta facts, or articles pertaining to the mp3 report is acceptable prior to undertaking hence. And how extensive by yourself can endure with any creation against your office? Then move towards Connections and simply click upon LAN Configurations (assuming by yourself?re applying broadband). On your own?ll obtain a Pretty very low finished estimate up entrance, yet then oneself?ll identify that any time it will come period in direction of renew your website web hosting account, the rate can double or even triple inside of some predicaments. We found out disappointing submission solutions, mediocre program and once again arrived throughout the weighty provide, a person pagers with free of charge presents. The client facet scripting involves the altering of boundary method inside the internet web pages. Examine out our world wide web internet hosting courses and pick out the suitable for your internet place of work or get hold of toward go over your web hosting needs with our web hosting industry experts within Bangladesh. In just this write-up, I?ll address 3 hefty internet hosting services assuming your shopping for a yr?s importance of web hosting and an area track record with every. Ranging against desktop sharing toward whiteboard with annotation, Those services offer you all important attributes expected for a fruitful on line convention. Prospective buyers are capable towards decide versus applications exactly where a world-wide-web website is hosted upon its personalized obvious actual physical server with its particular components and application components, these as connectivity and doing the job courses, inside of invest in towards ease versus significant functionality ability and harmony. Your self ought to not merely evaluate the charge yet the model of company on your own will want this sort of as net advertising and upgrades, will they carry on toward establish the website till oneself are happy, and can they compose the written content. Discounted Internet Designers is honored with getting open up with regards toward adopting refreshing traits and philosophies within just net structure without having sacrificing its undying eyesight. The flexibleness of an on the net website is dependent upon loads of factors which will aid inside convalescing diploma of publicity within just on line medium. Yourself can preserve a bunch of dollars despite the fact that by yourself put on?t contain in direction of fork out a person else toward put in a required script for on your own. If there is any condition very similar in direction of the entry the small business ought to be capable in the direction of established it straight all of a sudden. In essence by means of taking their companies your on line connections are rerouted in the direction of their servers with no restrictions. The significant ponder is what do oneself have to have your world wide web-internet site toward do? Some world wide web growth expert services drive during their personalized Options instead than providing a customized world-wide-web style in accordance toward the buyer?s tastes.

Vps Web Hosting Overview can present you with highest details for What Everyone Must Find Out About Internet Hosting.Remember to take a look at the published article for more facts!

Source: http://naughtmuch.com/choosing-protected-home-business-online-hosting-strategy-in-your-web-based-business-site/

Jack Taylor Apple Pie Recipe black friday How long to cook a turkey green bean casserole green bean casserole recipe red dawn

Bucks sign OJ Mayo to 3-year, $24 million deal

The Milwaukee Bucks signed free agent guard O.J. Mayo on Saturday, hoping he will add some much-needed offensive punch to a roster that is searching for some after a summer of upheaval.

The Bucks agreed to terms on a three-year, $24 million contract with Mayo last week. But thanks to a series of moves that general manager John Hammond has in the works, the Bucks had to wait until Saturday to make the contract official.

The 25-year-old Mayo averaged 15.3 points for the Dallas Mavericks last season, and he should have no trouble finding shots in this new-look Bucks lineup.

Hammond executed a sign-and-trade deal with the Suns and Clippers that sent J.J. Redick to Los Angeles and volume shooters Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings could soon be following Redick out the door in Milwaukee.

Ellis is reportedly set to join the Mavericks in Mayo's place and the Bucks have signed restricted free agent point guard Jeff Teague, who played for new coach Larry Drew in Atlanta, to an offer sheet. If the Hawks decline to match the offer, Teague will come to Milwaukee and likely spell the end of Jennings' run with the Bucks.

Ellis and Jennings were far and away the leaders in scoring and field goal attempts for the Bucks last season, meaning Mayo should get plenty of opportunities to show that he is capable of carrying the scoring load for an entire season.

After spending his first four seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies, Mayo hoped to cash in big on the free-agent market last summer. But the money dried up quickly across the league, and he wound up taking a deal with the Mavericks that paid him more than $4 million last season.

He opted out of his two-year deal to test the waters once again, and for a moment it appeared that he could be stuck on the outside looking in for a second straight summer. Mayo's name was near the top of the list of available shooting guards, a list that also included Redick and Ellis from the Bucks and Kevin Martin from the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Mayo was inundated with attention when the market opened on July 1, speaking to the Timberwolves, Clippers, Bucks and several other teams. The Clippers pulled off a sign-and-trade that brought Redick to Los Angeles and the Wolves did the same to land Martin from Houston. With the Bucks getting nowhere in talks to bring Ellis back, Hammond shifted his sights to Mayo.

In Milwaukee, Mayo will immediately become an offensive focal point like he was in the first few months of last season in Dallas while star Dirk Nowitzki sat out with a knee injury.

They added steady veteran point guard Luke Ridnour in a trade with the Timberwolves earlier this week, but still were looking for the kind of player who can get to the basket and score in transition.

Mayo seems to fit that bill. He shot nearly 45 percent from the field, which was the second-highest mark of his career, and showed flashes of potential to be a go-to scorer during the early part of last season while the Mavericks waited for Nowitzki's return. He averaged 20.9 points and shot 52.9 percent from 3-point range in the first month of last season, including a 40-point game at Houston on Dec. 8.

Mayo shot a career-best 40.7 percent from 3-point range last season for the Mavericks, but his production dipped noticeably as the season wore on.

The Bucks have Ersan Ilyasova in the front court, but there are few offensive threats on the rest of the roster. Larry Sanders emerged as one of the best defensive players in the league last season, but his offensive game is still raw. John Henson showed some promise as a rookie last year, but likely is not ready to assume a major role yet. Carlos Delfino and Zaza Pachulia have also agreed to terms on deals but are role players.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bucks-sign-oj-mayo-3-24-million-deal-214841783.html

red panda Rizzoli And Isles amy schumer amy schumer act blackhawks Antoni Gaudí

Restored iPad to iOS 6.1.3. Lost all game progress

Forum Jump

Source: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1609545&goto=newpost

nate mcmillan clooney arrested southern miss rod blagojevich rod blagojevich uconn vcu

Egypt braces for more protests, prays for calm

By Yasmine Saleh and Mike Collett-White

CAIRO (Reuters) - Supporters of ousted President Mohamed Mursi called for protests on Friday and Egyptians prayed there would be no repeat of clashes that killed more than 90 people in the last week and left the Arab world's biggest nation bitterly divided.

More than a week after the army toppled Egypt's first elected leader on a wave of demonstrations, Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood movement wants people to join it on the streets to push for him to be reinstated, an aim that now seems in vain.

The streets of Cairo were quiet on Friday morning, with separate demonstrations by Mursi supporters and opponents expected later in the day, the weekly Muslim prayer day.

Officials say Mursi is still being held at the Republican Guard compound in Cairo, where troops killed 53 Islamist protesters on Monday in a clash that intensified anger his allies already felt at the military's decision to oust him.

Four members of the security forces were also killed in a battle the military says was started by terrorists. Mursi's supporters call the incident a "massacre" and say those who died were praying peacefully when troops opened fire.

Many of Egypt's 84 million people have been shocked by the shootings, graphic images of which have appeared on state and private news channels and social media. The incident came just three days after 35 people were killed in clashes between pro- and anti-Mursi demonstrators across the country.

"It's a very hard time for Egyptians, to see footage of blood and violence during the holy month of Ramadan, and everyone I speak to says the same thing," said Fateh Ali, a 54-year-old civil servant in Cairo.

"I really hope the situation gets resolved soon. I don't think we can afford this economically or psychologically."

The Brotherhood believes it is the victim of a brutal military crackdown, evoking memories of when it was suppressed under longtime autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled in a popular uprising in 2011.

But many of its opponents blame Islamists for the violence, and some have little sympathy for demonstrators who died, underlining how deep the fissures in Egyptian society are.

The unrest has also raised fear over security in the lawless Sinai peninsula bordering Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip. One Egyptian policeman was killed and another wounded early on Friday when militants fired rocket-propelled grenades at checkpoints in the Sinai town of El Arish.

Egyptian state media said police arrested three Palestinian militants conducting attacks in Sinai.

VIGIL, SONGS FOR THE DEAD

Outside the Rabaa Adawiya mosque in northeastern Cairo, thousands of Brotherhood supporters gathered late on Thursday to mourn the dead in Monday's violence, the deadliest since Mubarak was toppled apart from a 2012 soccer stadium riot.

Women wailed and men cried as they watched a large screen showing graphic footage of hospital scenes immediately after the shooting, with corpses on the floor and medics struggling to cope with the number of bloodied casualties being carried in.

Hundreds of Egyptian flags fluttered in the evening breeze. Songs of defiance were sung.

Many thousands of Islamists have camped out in the area, braving searing heat and, since Wednesday, daytime fasting during Ramadan.

It has become the de facto base of the Brotherhood, whose leaders live under the threat of detention after the public prosecutor ordered their arrests earlier in the week.

Judicial sources say authorities are expected to charge Mursi in the coming days, possibly for corruption or violence. Prosecutors are also taking a fresh look at an old case over a 2011 prison break when Mursi was among Brotherhood figures who escaped after being rounded up during anti-Mubarak protests.

The detentions and threats of arrest have drawn concern from the United States, which has walked a diplomatic tightrope to avoid calling Mursi's ouster at the hands of the powerful Egyptian military a coup.

U.S. law bars aid to countries where a democratic government is removed in a coup. Washington, which gives Egypt's military $1.3 billion in aid each year, has said it is too early to say whether the Egyptian events meet that description.

The Egyptian army said it was enforcing the nation's will after millions of people, fed up at economic stagnation and suspicious of a Brotherhood power grab, took to the streets at the end of June to demand his resignation.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Wednesday Mursi's government "wasn't a democratic rule."

Her words were warmly received by the interim government and swiftly denounced by the Brotherhood. On Thursday, Psaki expressed concern over the crackdown on Brotherhood leaders.

"If politicized arrests and detentions continue, it is hard to see how Egypt will move beyond this crisis," she said.

ALARM OVERSEAS

Underlining the level of concern overseas at Egypt's crisis, two U.S. Navy ships patrolling in the Middle East moved closer to Egypt's Red Sea coast in recent days, in what appeared to be a precautionary move following Mursi's ouster on July 3.

The United States often sends Navy vessels close to countries in turmoil in case it needs to protect or evacuate U.S. citizens or give humanitarian assistance.

Rich Gulf states have thrown Egypt a $12 billion lifeline in financial aid, which should help it stave off economic collapse.

More than two years of turmoil has scared away tourists and investors, shriveled hard currency reserves and threatened its ability to import food and fuel.

Crucial to longer-term stability will be holding new parliamentary and presidential elections, which the transitional authorities are hoping to achieve in a matter of months.

Adli Mansour, the interim president named by the general who removed Mursi, has announced a temporary constitution, plans to amend it to satisfy parties' demands and a faster-than-expected schedule for parliamentary elections in about six months.

He also has named liberal economist Hazem el-Beblawi as interim prime minister. Beblawi held his first meetings with political leaders on Wednesday and told Reuters that he expected the transitional Cabinet to be in place early next week.

Negotiations are difficult, with the authorities trying to attract support from groups that range from secularists to ultra-orthodox Muslims, nearly all of whom expressed deep dissatisfaction with elements of the interim constitution.

(Additional reporting by Alexander Dziadosz, Maggie Fick, Sarah McFarlane, Mike Collett-White, Tom Perry, Peter Graff, Ali Saed, Seham el-Oraby, Shadia Nasralla and Tom Finn in Cairo and Andrea Shalal-Esa and Lesley Wroughton in Washington; Writing by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Philippa Fletcher)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-braces-more-protests-prays-calm-001543810.html

Ryan Lanza Facebook Connecticut shooting Nancy Lanza school shootings Jenni Rivera Adam Lanza Facebook the hobbit

Watch the Pride Parade this morning @ Jake's on 6th! w/ Drink and Food Specials!...

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/sdpix/posts/10151732485014868

solar storm spanx solar flares mary j blige gcb patricia heaton arsenic and old lace

Intel-powered ZTE Geek arrives in China on July 25th

When we first caught a glimpse of the ZTE Geek in Beijing, it was merely an awkwardly named prototype. Now, it looks like the smartphone with "Intel Inside" will soon be ready for primetime -- in China, anyway. It boasts the same Clover Trail+ processor as the Lenovo K900, but with pared-down features that help it achieve a lower price point. The phone's outfitted with Android (Jelly Bean), a 5-inch 1,080 x 720 pixel display, an 8-megapixel rear camera, a 1-megapixel front cam, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage space. Clearly, it's not the most tricked-out phone there is, but its price might entice people to try it out. The ZTE Geek will make an exclusive arrival at Jingdong Mall on July 25th, where it'll retail for ¥1,888 ($307). If you despise cables and your wallet can take a hit, you can also get one bundled with a wireless charging kit for ¥2,288 ($372).

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Comments

Via: Engadget Chinese (translated)

Source: ZTE (Sina Weibo)

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/elTQlmk4wg4/

mega lottery sag aftra mega mill power ball livan hernandez soledad o brien mega ball

Israel's National Library marks Ramadan with digital Koran exhibit

18:05

Edward Snowden says will submit request for asylum in Russia today (Reuters)

17:04

U.S. Homeland Security chief set to resign, source says (Reuters)

16:00

Egypt's PM picks leftist politician Ziad Bahaa El-Din as deputy (Reuters)

13:09

German: Egypt must avoid violence against Muslim Brotherhood (Reuters)

12:53

Supreme Court gives state final extension on Amona eviction (Haaretz)

12:47

Egypt's interim prime minister to swear in new cabinet next week (Reuters)

12:26

Twitter hands over data to French authorities to identity anti-semitic tweets, AFP reports (Haaretz)

12:05

Al-Qaida linked group reportedly kills Syrian rebel commander in Latakia (DPA)

11:40

Defense Minister: Israel launched rocket propulsion system as part of exercise in Palmahim (Haaretz)

10:44

Snowden: U.S. gov't waging campaign to deny me right to take up asylum (Reuters)

10:01

Fugitive NSA whistleblower Snowden to meet with human rights groups - official says (Reuters)

09:22

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef announces his candidate for chief rabbi- his son Isaac (Haaretz)

09:05

Police arrest man for staging Arab 'Price Tag' (Army Radio)

08:01

Irish parliament approves abortion if mother's life in danger (DPA)

07:15

U.S. lawmakers urge re-test of missile defense system (Reuters)

Source: http://haaretz.feedsportal.com/c/34191/f/620531/s/2e8e4293/l/0L0Shaaretz0N0Cnews0Cnational0Cisrael0Es0Enational0Elibrary0Emarks0Eramadan0Ewith0Edigital0Ekoran0Eexhibit0Bpremium0E10B5354240DlocalLinksEnabled0Ffalse/story01.htm

Tim Lambesis jaycee dugard Great Gatsby Mark Sanford Ray Harryhausen elizabeth smart chipotle

Etech Global Services creating 200 jobs in Riviera Beach

Etech Global Services plans to hire 200 employees over the next three years at its new Riviera Beach location.

The Business Development Board of Palm Beach County and the Workforce Alliance helped the Nacogdoches, Texas-based company establish a 10,000-square-foot office at 155 E. Blue Heron Blvd. It plans to invest $2.5 million here and could receive an Enterprise Zone Tax Credit for meeting job creation requirements.

Etech runs call centers that handle outsourced customer service and sales. It has more than 2,500 employees, including in India and Jamaica.

The BDB said the project would have an economic impact of more than $21 million.

Brian Bandell covers banking, finance, health care and education. Get the latest banking industry news here.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bizj_southflorida/~3/sgpjEJ7WkP8/etech-global-creating-200-jobs-in.html

leah remini nick young trayvon martin Ed Sheeran Sharknado free Slurpee day Orange Is the New Black

NKorea withdraws offer to discuss reunions, tours

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? North Korea on Thursday withdrew offers for talks with South Korea on reunions of separated families and resuming tours to a mountain resort, Seoul said.

South Korea's Unification Ministry said North Korea now instead wants to focus on ongoing negotiations meant to reopen a shuttered jointly run factory complex.

North Korea made offers Wednesday. Seoul had agreed to talk about arranging family reunions but rejected Pyongyang's proposal to discuss resumption of South Korean tours to a North Korean mountain.

Seoul said it will again ask North Korea to agree to talks on family reunions.

The two Koreas recently agreed on a desire to reopen the Kaesong complex north of their border, but they have not agreed on the details.

Talks aimed at restarting the factory park ended Wednesday with no breakthrough. Both sides agreed to meet again Monday to discuss restoring what was once a symbol of cooperation between the rivals.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nkorea-withdraws-offer-discuss-reunions-tours-125119223.html

world peace elbow kevin love think like a man world peace world peace lakers colorectal cancer metta

T-Mobile Poland to ship Firefox OS-powered Alcatel One Touch Fire starting tomorrow

We knew good and well it was coming, and now we've both a date and a launch partner to hone in on: that's "tomorrow" and "T-Mobile Poland," respectively. After going big (as opposed to home) at Mobile World Congress earlier this year, Mozilla has just announced that the Firefox OS-powered Alcatel One Touch Fire will ship tomorrow in Poland for 1 zloty (practically free, for those curious) in combination with "a very attractive tariff." Market launches in additional European countries will follow in the fall, with German handsets to be marketed via Deutsche Telekom's second brand congstar. DT's subsidiaries in Hungary (Magyar Telekom) and Greece (COSMOTE) will also initiate sales of the handset this fall, but pricing in those regions has yet to be revealed. As for word on a US release via Sprint? Still waiting, sadly.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Comments

Via: Mozilla

Source: Deutsche Telekom

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/QAuJFtCkXSM/

Holly Rowe Chief Keef FRANK ZAMBONI Tiffany Six aaliyah jodie foster seahawks

On using B-Cycle (Offthekuff)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/318374952?client_source=feed&format=rss

illuminati ricin Google Fiber Boston Strong Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev Boston Bombing Suspect obama

Opera for Android updated with new Chromium, video downloads and faster start-up

Opera for Android, one of most popular third-party browsers for the Google OS has been updated. The latest version of the browser now runs on Chromium 28, which is a lot faster than ever before.

Opera for Android now has an improved start-up time along with improved tab-UI animations. The update also brings a new ?open in private tab? context menu and has updated the overall translations.

Furthermore, Opera for Android now lets you open files from the external memory card and has improved the wingsuit capabilities. Opera has also updated its cookie clearing mechanism, discover improvements and brough bug fixes to full screen web pages.

Opera has also upgraded its download manager, which now allows you to download video files that can be played in Opera. Lastly, you can now set the location where you want the files to be downloaded on your phone.

The updated version of Opera for Android can be downloaded in the Google Play Store.

Source | Via

Source: http://blog.gsmarena.com/opera-for-android-updated-with-new-chromium-video-downloads-and-faster-start-up/

leslie varez ward solar storms uganda the parent trap invisible children kony 2012 space weather

Review: 'The Lone Ranger' remake thrashes Christianity | The Salt ...

Johnny Depp plays Tonto, and Armie Hammer portrays the Lone Ranger, in Disney's big-budget remake of "The Lone Ranger." The movie was partially shot in Moab and was one of 18 productions filmed in the state in the last fiscal year. (courtesy Disney)

Producers of the latest reboot of the "Superman" franchise famously marketed the movie to Christian audiences. Makers of the new "Lone Ranger" movie, not so much.

There?s a reason for that. If "Man of Steel" panders to Christians, in "The Lone Ranger," Christians are portrayed as unattractive, ineffectual, hateful or flat-out hypocritically evil.

Like so much in this mess of a movie, it?s an ingredient that doesn?t make a ton of sense.

(Spoiler alert: I?m not going to give away much, but if you?re the type who wants to know nothing about a movie, come back after you see it.)

Clocking in at 2? hours, "The Lone Ranger" can?t decide if it?s an homage to the graphically bloody Westerns of Sam Peckinpah or the slapstick of Mel Brooks? "Blazing Saddles."

And, yes, I get that it needs to restate the basic facts of the origin of the Ranger, but a previous Ranger movie handled that issue in a song that only took a bit more than 2? minutes (hi-yo! hi-yo!), including that stirring section from the "William Tell Overture."

Religion and spirituality are wound through the plot of the new film. Some of it is about Christianity and a lot of it at least appears to be about American Indian beliefs.

The Indian stuff is tossed together as what seems to be pastiche or parody. Tonto is much more of an equal partner than sidekick here.

But from the dead bird on his head to never removing his war paint to some of the "religious" elements he tosses at the Ranger, he?s anything but authentic to anyone who knows even a smidge about real Comanche tribe beliefs and practices.

Halfway through the movie, however, we suddenly discover that Tonto is no-kidding crazy, left mentally unbalanced as a boy by the slaughter of his friends and family. Even the surviving members of his tribe laugh at him. Which I suppose gives the audience license to laugh, too. Ha ha.

story continues below

Christianity doesn?t come off nearly as funny.

We first meet the man who will don the mask as he sits in a train car otherwise filled with annoyingly hymn-singing Presbyterians. Their musicians are crummy and their singing is off-key.

Asked if he wants to join their prayers, the future Ranger brandishes a copy of John Locke?s "Two Treatises on Government" and explains, "This is my Bible."

Attacked moments later by outlaws, the Presbyterian pastor?s attempt at a nonviolent resolution is met with a bullet to the leg. Take that, blessed peacemaker.

Later in the movie, we spot the pastor again, limping and wild-haired and all but frothing at the mouth as he screams "Heathen!" as the Ranger and Tonto ride by.

There?s at least one more prayer in the movie ? offered by the man who turns out to be the most vile villain in the story. I guess we?re supposed to understand that as irony. The bad guy later explains why he?s willing to slaughter so many innocents to gain power and money: "Nothing is accomplished without sacrifice."

Which I suppose could be understood as an ironic inversion of the Christian message.

Sectarian religion aside, the Lone Ranger has always been a morality play, upholding specific values. It takes a while for this movie?s Ranger to decide he really wants to take up the mask and mission. But when he does, he doesn?t seriously violate canon.

He defends the weak and protects the innocent. His pistols almost never run out of ammo. He can shoot the gun out of a bad guy?s hand. (The writers of "Man of Steel" could have taken a lesson here: Superman never kills, guys.)

Fran Striker and George Trendle created the Lone Ranger as a radio show in 1933. Striker was the writer and, according to the Radio Hall of Fame, was aiming for a "solemn, honest hero who was ?the embodiment of living prayer.? "

Striker famously wrote a creed of beliefs for his character. It begins:

Next Page >

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/lifestyle/56572481-80/ranger-movie-lone-christianity.html.csp

Candy Crowley binders of women presidential debates Felix Baumgartner Little Nemo gawker Romney

Egypt pushes transition, naming prime minister

A supporter of the ousted Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi holds up a Quran during a protest in Nasr City, a suburb of Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday July 9, 2013. After days of deadlock, Egypt's military-backed interim president named a veteran economist as prime minister on Tuesday and appointed pro-democracy leader Mohamed ElBaradei as a vice president, while the army showed its strong hand in shepherding the process, warning political factions against ?maneuvering? that impedes the transition. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)

A supporter of the ousted Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi holds up a Quran during a protest in Nasr City, a suburb of Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday July 9, 2013. After days of deadlock, Egypt's military-backed interim president named a veteran economist as prime minister on Tuesday and appointed pro-democracy leader Mohamed ElBaradei as a vice president, while the army showed its strong hand in shepherding the process, warning political factions against ?maneuvering? that impedes the transition. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)

In this image released by the Egyptian Presidency, Hazem el-Beblawi meets with interim President Adly Mansour, unseen, in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, July 9, 2013. The spokesman of Egypt's interim president says a prominent economist, Hazem el-Beblawi, has been named prime minister and pro-democracy leader Mohamed ElBaradei as a vice-president. Ahmed el-Musalamani made the announcements Tuesday after days of political stalemate over the prime minister post. El-Beblawi, who is in his 70s, served as finance minister in one of the first cabinets formed after the 2011 uprising forced Hosni Mubarak from power and the military stepped in to rule. (AP Photo/Egyptian Presidency)

Supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi prepare symbolic coffins, representing some 51 people killed Monday, in Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, July 9, 2013. After days of deadlock, Egypt's military-backed interim president named a veteran economist as prime minister on Tuesday and appointed pro-democracy leader Mohamed ElBaradei as a vice president, while the army showed its strong hand in shepherding the process, warning political factions against ?maneuvering? that impedes the transition. (AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi)

Supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi protest in Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, July 9, 2013. Egypt's army chief says the military will not accept political "maneuvering," in thinly veiled warning to the only Islamist party, Al-Nour, that sided with the army's removal of President Mohammed Morsi but has since had frictions with other factions over forming a new leadership.(AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi)

Supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi protest at the Republican Guard building in Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, July 9, 2013. Egyptian security forces killed dozens of supporters of Egypt's ousted president in one of the deadliest single episodes of violence in more than two and a half years of turmoil. The toppled leader's Muslim Brotherhood called for an uprising, accusing troops of gunning down protesters, while the military blamed armed Islamists for provoking its forces. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

CAIRO (AP) ? Egypt's interim president named an economist as prime minister Tuesday, ending days of deadlock as the head of the military pressured political factions to speed along the process, warning them that "maneuvering" must not hold up the transition toward new elections after the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi.

The appointment of Hazem el-Bebawi, along with the setting of a swift timetable for parliamentary and presidential elections early next year, underlined the military-backed leadership's determination to push ahead with their transition plans in the face of Islamist protests demanding the reinstatement of Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected president.

The new leadership got a boost Tuesday from Arab allies in the Gulf. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both opponents of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, celebrated his ouster by showering the cash-strapped Egyptian government with promises of $8 billion worth of cash grants, loans and badly needed gas and oil.

In doing so, they are effectively stepping in for Morsi's Gulf patron, Qatar, a close ally of the Brotherhood that gave his government several billion in aid. During Morsi's year in office, he and his officials toured multiple countries seeking cash to prop up rapidly draining foreign currency reserves and plug mounting deficits ? at times getting a cold shoulder.

The developments underlined the multiple pressures on the new leadership even with the country still in turmoil after what Morsi's supporters have called a coup against democracy.

The military faces calls, from the United States and Western allies in particular, to show that civilians are in charge and Egypt is on a path toward a new democratically based leadership. The nascent government will soon face demands it tackle economic woes that mounted during Morsi's year in office, including fuel shortages, electricity cut-offs and inflation.

And there are signs of discontent over the transition plan among those participating in the military-backed political process.

The secular, revolutionary youth movement Tamarod, which organized last week's massive protests against Morsi, criticized the transition plan Tuesday, in part because it gives too much power to the interim president, Adly Mansour. An Islamist party was unhappy that appointed panels ? not elected ones ? will amend the constitution.

At the same time, the country is deeply polarized, raising the threat of violence, particularly after more than 50 Morsi supporters were killed by security forces in clashes early Monday. The Brotherhood and Islamist allies say they are under siege by a crackdown from the military that has jailed five of their top leaders and shut down their media outlets.

The Brotherhood on Tuesday rejected the transition plan, as tens of thousands of its supporters massed for another day in a rally outside a Cairo mosque where they have vowed to stay until Morsi is restored. The crowds waved signs of the ousted leader and brought in coffins draped with Egyptian flags representing the slain protesters.

"This new declaration affirms that those who carried out the coup, the dictator generals, don't respect the will of the people," the Brotherhood said of the transition timetable in a statement. "These are all rejected and void measures."

Still, there was not the huge nationwide turnout Brotherhood leaders had called for in the wake of the killings. Also, for the first time since even before the June 30 protests began, Cairo's Tahrir Square ? where Morsi's opponents were centered ? was largely without crowds.

That could in part reflect the fact that people are starting to prepare for the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan on Wednesday, when Muslims will begin 30 days of fasting from sunrise to sunset. But it is not clear if the month will significantly calm the street. The fast cuts down on activity during the day, but the street rallies have been largely nocturnal affairs anyway. The Islamist camp will likely use the religious occasion to rally its base.

The interim president called for a reconciliation process called "One People" to begin in Ramadan, traditionally a period for Muslims to promote unity. It called for parties and movements to hold meetings. There was no sign the Brotherhood and its allies would attend, much like Morsi's opponents rejected his calls for dialogue, which were dismissed as empty gestures.

In an effort at outreach, the interim president's spokesman Ahmed el-Musalamani said that posts in the new Cabinet would be offered to the Islamist camp ? including to the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party and the Salafi Al-Nour Party. He spoke to Egypt's privately owned CBC TV channel in remarks also carried by the state news agency.

The statement by military chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi against political maneuvering underlined how the military ? while it says it is staying out of politics ? remains a powerful presence in a transition ostensibly being led by Mansour and a loose coalition of political groupings that backed the army's removal of Morsi.

"The people and, behind it, the armed forces don't want anyone to stray from the right path or deviate from the boundaries of safety and security, driven by selfishness or ... zealousness," the military said.

A spokesman of the interim president announced the appointment of el-Bebawi as prime minister and of pro-democracy leader Mohamed ElBaradei as vice president. El-Bebawi is to start forming a Cabinet on Wednesday.

The naming of a prime minister had been held up for days as the sole Islamist faction among them, the ultraconservative Al-Nour Party, blocked candidates from secular, liberal and leftist factions. Those factions have been determined to have one of their own in the post.

Last week, Al-Nour blocked ElBaradei from becoming prime minister then objected to one his close allies put forward as a compromise. It insisted it wanted a less political figure. The moves infuriated the secular and liberal factions. ElBaradei is considered one of the strongest pro-reform figures, but many Islamists vehemently oppose him, considering him too secular.

El-Bebawi is from the liberal-secular camp ? albeit a less controversial, well-known or prominent figure than ElBaradei, who will now get a vice president post. Some of ElBaradei's supporters believe he will work to shape the government and political process from that position.

Gen. el-Sissi's statement, read on state TV, appeared to be a veiled warning to Al-Nour. But it suggests the military is ready to apply pressure on the politicians in the future, when multiple disputes are almost certain to emerge.

"The future of the nation is too important and sacred for maneuvers or hindrance, whatever the justifications," el-Sissi said.

An Al-Nour spokesman, Ibrahim Abaza, told AP that the party was not consulted on el-Beblawi's nomination but welcomes his appointment. But he underlined that "our objections are not only about nominations but the dictatorship of the new president, who takes decisions unilaterally without consultations and with clear bias against Islamist current."

El-Beblawi, 76, served as finance minister in one of the first cabinets formed after autocrat Hosni Mubarak was ousted in 2011 and the military stepped in to rule for nearly 17 months. But he resigned in protest in October 2011 after 26 protesters, mostly Christians, were killed by troops and security forces in a crackdown on their march.

A Sorbonnne-educated economist has been a professor in several Egyptian universities and served in the United Nations for six years in the U.N. Social Economic Commission for Western Asia. After Mubarak's fall, he was one of the founders of the Egyptian Social Democratic party, one of several secular parties in the liberal grouping National Salvation Front in which ElBaradei is a leading figure.

He called for dialogue between the new leadership and their Islamist opponents in the streets. "Everyone in Egypt must sit together on the table for dialogue to solve current political differences, stop violence and bloodshed in the street," he told The Associated Press.

Late Monday, Mansour issued a declaration that included a temporary, truncated constitution and the timetable for the transition period.

But it quickly brought out the strains among the factions that have a seat at the table in discussions over the transition.

The anti-Morsi protest movement Tamarod, Arabic for "rebel," said it was not consulted on the declaration. It said the declaration gave too much power to Mansour, including the power to legislate, since there is no parliament. A post-Morsi plan put forward by Tamarod called for a largely ceremonial interim president with most power in the hands of the prime minister.

It also complained that the process will involve amending the Islamist-drafted constitution passed under Morsi's administration instead of completely throwing it out and writing a new one.

"The people didn't have a revolution to bring back the Muslim Brotherhood constitution. We don't want a patchwork constitution. We want a new one," said one of Tamarod's founders, Walid el-Masry, who added that the group would meet with Mansour to press for changes to the declaration.

Under the timetable issued Monday, two appointed panels would draw up and approve amendments to the constitution, which would be put to a referendum within 4 ? months from now. Elections for a new parliament would be held within two months of that. Once the new parliament convenes, it would have a week to set a date for presidential elections.

After Monday's bloodshed, authorities stepped up moves against Islamists.

The military accused armed Islamists of sparking Monday's carnage by attacking the headquarters of the Republican Guard. Morsi supporters say no such attack took place and that troops attacked their sit-in nearby, opening fire on them without provocation after dawn prayers. Along with 51 protesters, an army officer and two policemen were killed.

An Egyptian security official said 650 people were arrested, most during Monday's violence, for allegedly trying to storm the headquarters. The official said there were Syrian and Palestinian nationals among those arrested. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press.

The general prosecutor announced that authorities confiscated weapons, knives and home-made explosives and bombs from the sit-in site and that investigations found that armed men have used rooftops of residential and government building to fire at the Republican Guard forces.

Egypt also chided the Islamist-rooted governments of Turkey and Tunisia that criticized the army's ouster of the president. The Foreign Ministry summoned the Turkish ambassador to complain of interference in internal affairs after Turkish officials called for U.N. intervention.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-07-09-ML-Egypt/id-c892e40359fc4e01af667f172ab1dd46

Rebecca Martinson EJ Manuel Dion Jordan Omar Borkan Al Gala kylie bisutti jimmy carter lunar eclipse

Statins Have Few Side Effects, But Should More People Be Taking Them?

Statins lower cholesterol, reduce inflammation and may be responsible for saving thousands of lives. Should everyone be taking the wonder drug?

In the latest study investigating the side effects o statins, researchers report in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, that the best-selling drugs are relatively safe. And as evidence builds that statins can lower inflammation, the process responsible for many chronic illnesses, from Alzheimer?s to cancer and heart disease, some experts are suggesting that more people should be taking advantage of the prescription medication to slow down aging.

The results of the Circulation paper may bolster that idea. The study?s lead author, Huseyin Naci, a research fellow at Harvard Medical School in the department of population medicine, pooled 135 studies involving 250,000 participants and all seven of the currently available statin medications and analyzed the risk of side effects. The studies were those that drug makers submitted to the Food and Drug Administration to demonstrate the safety of their medications for approval. Naci and his colleagues found a 9% increased risk of diabetes among those who used statins compared to those who were assigned placebo pills. The rates of other side effects, including muscle pain, cancer, and changes in liver enzymes were not statistically significant.

MORE: Who Should Take Statins? The Debate Continues

Such a relatively safe side effect profile could reignite the debate over whether more people should be taking statins ? or, as some researchers in the UK and US have suggested, whether everyone over age 40 or 50 should be on the medication.? Dr. David Agus, professor of medicine at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, recommends that everyone over 40 should discuss statins with their doctor, even if they haven?t had heart problems or are at increased risk for heart disease or diabetes. He says that inflammation is driving a number of aging-related conditions, both in the body and brain, and since studies have shown that statins are a powerful way to dampen the inflammatory response, more people might be living longer if they take advantage of statins. Rory Collins, an epidemiologist at Oxford University, caused an uproar last year when he addressed the European Society of Cardiology with a talk entitled, ?The Case for Statins In a Wider Population,? and argued that more people should be availing themselves of the medications, just as they do aspirin.

Not everyone agrees with that view, however, despite the favorable side effect profile of the drugs. ?It?s a wonderful medication, but we shouldn?t be putting statins in the water supply,? says Dr. Steven Nissen, chair of cardiovascular medicine at Cleveland Clinic. Naci also says that although his analysis showed that the drugs were relatively safe, ?we don?t know the long term effects of statins. If we give it everyone, then after ten or 15 years we don?t know what the slight increased risk of diabetes will amount to.? Statin drugs have been linked to an increased risk of muscle weakness as well, which was severe enough for one medication to be pulled off the market.

MORE: Should You Take Statins? Study Says Heart Benefits Outweigh Diabetes Risk

There?s no argument that patients who have already had a heart attack or heart disease can lower their risk of further heart problems by taking a statin. What?s less clear is whether people who are otherwise healthy could lower their risk enough to justify their exposure to the side effects of the medications. And to answer that question, scientists are turning to statins? ability to reduce inflammation.

Currently, national guidelines recommend that patients start on statins based on their cholesterol levels. But doctors are investigating whether people with low cholesterol levels but high inflammation levels could benefit from statins. A recent trial showed that these patients, who under existing guidelines would not be advised to take statins, could lower their risk of a heart attack or stroke by 50% if they were taking the drug. To confirm the association between inflammation and a lower risk of heart events, Dr. Paul Ridker, director of the center for cardiovascular disease prevention at the Brigham and Women?s Hospital and a pioneer in understanding inflammation?s role in heart disease, is spearheading two trials involving heart patients on statins. Half will be randomly assigned to take another anti-inflammatory agent on top of their statin, while half will be assigned a placebo; if the group taking the anti-inflammatory agent ends up with a lower rate of heart problems, then that would support the idea that inflammation indeed plays a critical role in heart disease, and that controlling it with a statin might save more lives.

MORE:?Statins: Evidence of Broader Benefits

?We already know that the risk associated with elevated inflammation is as large as the elevated risk patients have from having either high cholesterol or high blood pressure,? he says. ?The question is, just as lowering blood pressure reduces risk, can we generate evidence that reducing inflammation reduces the risk of heart disease.?

Even if the results of those trials show that lowering inflammation also lowers risk of heart problems, that won?t mean that everyone should be taking a statin. ?One has to be cautious about for whom we recommend [statin] therapies,? says Dr. Sidney Smith, professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and past president of the American Heart Association. ?We are going to have to do a better job of identifying patients at risk who might benefit from medical therapies to reduce their risk of heart disease at a dosage that minimizes the side effects.?

That?s especially true for the youngest patients ? children ? who are increasingly being tested for high cholesterol levels and even prescribed the medications that most associate with middle-age. In 2008, I wrote about the American Academy of Pediatrics? recommendation to broaden cholesterol testing to include toddlers as young as two and to consider prescribing statins for youngsters with a history of abnormally high cholesterol levels:

While the guidelines target kids with a genetic risk of abnormally high cholesterol, called hyperlipidemia, they could lower the bar for prescriptions?not just for these children but for any overweight youngster whose cholesterol is not in check. Within hours of the AAP announcement on July 7, parents took to the blogs, expressing shock and unease over the aggressiveness of the guidelines. Statins are not without risks; in adults, in rare cases, they can cause muscle weakness and kidney problems, and there are limited data on how statins affect children.

The Academy defended its position, maintaining that the benefits of addressing cholesterol in children, which can lower their risk of diabetes and heart disease, outweighed the risks of the medications. Making such risk-benefit calculations about statin use for non-heart patients continues to be a work-in-progress, says Smith, but new national guidelines may help doctors to make those calculations in the coming year. ?We still need to carefully define the groups that will benefit,? he says. ?I think we will do a better job of that based on studies like this and others that have come out in the past few years. Hopefully within the next year we will be able to pull some things together that will allow us to move forward and do good things for our patients.?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/statins-few-side-effects-more-people-taking-them-094544365.html

awake mario batali lone ranger aaron brooks dave matthews band solar flares 2012 whitney houston will